Yoga for Real Life: Kitchen Yoga, Fierce Kindness and More

Episode Transcript
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Lisa Danylchuk (00:03):
Welcome back to the How We Can Heal podcast.
Today our guest is MelanieSalvatore August.
Melanie Salvatore August is aclassically trained actor,
writer, theater producer, andseasoned yoga and meditation
teacher.
She's the author of Yoga toSupport Immunity, Fierce
Kindness, and Kitchen Yoga,which we talk about today.

(00:26):
She's currently the lead yogateacher trainer for the Chopra
Center 200-hour yoga teachertraining, and she hosts classes
online and in person through herMelwell studio.
Melanie and I met years agowhen I was training to lead yoga
teacher trainings at YogaWorks, and I was assigned to
assist her and Nikki Estrada,both beautiful, authentic, whip

(00:49):
smart, and super funny people.
We connected instantly and havekept in touch through the many
iterations of life since.
She's a breath of fresh air,and she's sharing some of her
favorite wellness secrets withus here today.
So please join me in welcomingMel to the show.
The more you learn abouttrauma, the more you see it

(01:09):
everywhere.
It's a superpower to see it,and it's also necessary to see
beyond it.
This fall, I'm offering a newclass, Freedom from Trauma.
In it, I'll describe why it'sessential for us to identify
trauma and how we can approachhealing in a way that we don't
end up swimming in it.
You'll learn simple, not alwayseasy, perspective and practices

(01:33):
to help you move out of thetrauma vortex and stand in
something stronger and morepowerful than the impacts of
harm.
I'm looking forward to sharingwhat I know with you in this new
way.
Visit howwecanheal.com forwardslash freedom from trauma to
register for the training.
Thanks for having me.

Melanie Salvatore August (02:00):
I'm so happy just to talk with you and
to be able to share this withpeople.
Too, me too.
Thanks for doing all you'redoing in the world.

You know, I don't think I know this about
you, so I want to ask, how didyour yoga journey start?
How did yoga become such a bigpart of your life?

I laugh because I get this flash
of the preteen me.

Yeah.

And the pre-teen me used to go and
sit in Walden books.
I don't know if you you knowthe Walden books, but and they
had an not a yoga section, butthey had an occult section.
Yes.
And it had meditation andtranscendental meditation and
all the different stuff in itand yoga.
And so I would just, wheneverwe went to the mall, I would be
like, right?

(02:46):
And so I picked up a fewdifferent books on meditation
and on channeling and on right,um, Shakti gay one, on you know,
creative visualization, andthey became so helpful.
You know, I like I was always asensitive, the extra sensitive
being, you know, I was toosensitive, you know.
So I really came into thatjourney and kind of like I'm

(03:08):
anxious, um, I'm really drawn tothis.
I I feel this feels real to mein a really potent way.
So affirmations, creativevisualization, meditation, that
was all a part of it.
And I was dancing and movingand doing all these things, and
then I didn't really get intothe asana part of yoga until I

(03:28):
was in New York City living, andI was in my early 20s.
And then I had Shavasana, likethat this is the ending pose,
right?
The corpse pose where you'relike, and I had like relief from
my own self for like threeminutes, and I was like, oh my
god, what is this?
You're like, sign me up.
Where do I get more?
I remembered this as likemeditation before, but now I got

(03:52):
there like when I couldn't getthere, I was so anxious.
So, anyway, um, it's been along journey.

It has, it has, and then you were in New York
for years, right?

So New York for years and Los Angeles
for years, and I went back backand forth.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And then back to the bay.
Because we started crossingover.
I remember seeing your namewhen I was in the Los Angeles
like yoga works world and doingteacher training and all of
that.
And I don't know if we everactually met until up here.
I think we first met at theyoga works in San Francisco up
here.
But how what was yourexperience like in the Southern

(04:27):
California yoga world?

Melanie Salvatore Augus (04:30):
Lovely.
Like when I was inentertainment world, right?
So theater and film, and Ialways felt like a fish out of
water, right?
Even though it was like fun andI but it wasn't felt right.
But when I walked gotten reallyinto the yoga world, I thought,
huh, I belong here.
And it was the first time thatI felt like maybe something

(04:54):
wanted me as much or more than Iwanted it.
And I was surprised.
So when I taught in LA, I wasamazed at, you know, that
friends were like, oh, you we'rebringing something we love.
And I was like, wow, I havesomething to offer.
Yeah.
So so Southern California wasgreat for me and an awakening

(05:15):
for me that like I could let goof an idea of who I thought I
needed to be, and I could bemyself, whatever that meant, and
be helpful and have success,whatever, whatever success is.

Yeah.
How many yoga lifetimes do youfeel like you've lived at this
point in life?

So so many.
So many, right?
Just how many lifetimes?
Yeah.
You know, how how and and eachlifetime, like in each era of
like, you know, and and then thebig ones, like before I met my
partner.
That was a big shift, and thenbefore kids, and then after

(05:55):
kids.
I mean, that's like you know,and that absolutely changed my
yoga, my practice, yeah,everything.

Yeah.
So let's talk about that.
How how did specifically thattransition from before kids to
after kids?
How did your relationship withyoga change?

Well, some of the what seemed esoteric
practices that, you know, likemy favorite teachers would say
to me, like, your time ofpractice is 4 30 in the morning.
And I remember being like, oh,like I don't think so, or
whatever it was.
It suddenly I understood thatthere was a potency to these

(06:35):
practices and rituals that wouldhelp ground me.
And I realized, you know, Icould do hard things, meaning
after I gave birth to anotherhuman uh and was part of that
process, then I was like, oh,after I've you know been up for
weeks on end and slower, youknow, like it's like I can do

(06:59):
hard things.
I I actually and it and it'snot so hard because it it gives
me that nourishment that I need.
It quiets my mind, it helps mebe kinder.
Instead of being all over theplace, I have a more centered
base to start.
So a lot of the practicesbecame much more practical.
Yeah, like oh, that's why youdo it like this.

(07:19):
I get it.

Yeah, yeah.
And you wrote a book calledKitchen Table Yoga.
Kitchen Yoga, yeah.
Kitchen Yoga.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
And you know, I you know, youas an author, a mom, you know,
you you handle so much, Lisa.
I so I had one kid inkindergarten.
So, you know, half days pickup, all that stuff, right?
And then I had one little one,and he it was a toddler
preschool.

(07:48):
So I put him under uh watchThesame Street, and then I had a
newborn, just birthed him, butI I had very, you know,
graciously had gotten an offerlike, would you like to write
this book?
And I was like, sure.
So I just put I pulled it out,it was like I wrote this, right?
Like, how am I surviving?

(08:09):
How am I living my yoga?
Yeah, and literally, Roman, mymy third, he was brand new, and
he would be on my lap.
And I'd be like this, right?
And typing with one hand or theother one.
And I'd be like, let's doanother Sesame Street, like
Sesame Street saved my life,yeah.
Um, so I you know, it was maybeit's not the most uh

(08:32):
well-developed book, you know.
Like I read it now and I think,oh, there's so much more I
could add.
And it's it's really that like,okay, what are the bare bones?
Like, how do you um either do adinacharya, a morning routine,
get your mind on board, get yourheart on board, keep your
lymphatic system moving whileyou're so b busy, and then also,

(08:53):
you know, go into moretraditional asana, of course,
too.
Yeah.
So that was, I feel like that'sRoman's book.
That's that's my little one.

Yeah, well, that's also like the three on
top of each other book, right?
Like it's it's the thirdchild's book, but it's also the
three children's book.

Yeah, yeah.
And it is really like, okay,this is this is what I'm doing.

Speaker 02 (09:15):
Yeah.

I don't get it all in.
That whole book is not what I'mgonna do in all one day, but if
I can get a little bit of thatin each day, I'm a nicer person,
a kinder person, a moreconscious person.

When you were in that space, what do you
remember now that was servingyou the most in terms of your
kitchen yoga, your moments ofrelief?
And that can be different fordifferent people.
And there might be, you know,some things in the book that you
practice at different seasons,too.
But what in that early stage,while you're writing a book, you
got a newborn in your lap, yougot a toddler watching Sissippi

(09:50):
Street, and you got a little bitolder kid in school, what were
some of the moments or ritualsor yoga practices that fed you?

That's such a great question.
First, I will say that theywere they're microhabits within
opportunities that don't seemlike traditional yoga
opportunities.
Yes.
So that's where I was like inthe kitchen, right?
I just put on the water for theoatmeal, right?
And I'm going to stretchagainst the counter, right?

(10:20):
I have the bouncy here, Ibounce, and then I stretch,
right?
And I do a couple things, andI, you know, I also made things
as easy as possible.

Yeah.

A lot of people have like junk
drawers, like a kitchen junkdrawer.
I switched out my kitchen junkdrawer for you know, my my
toothbrush, my cream for myface, my dry brush, right?
Like everything that I wouldneed, you know, to my massaging
stone, like it's because I knewmy lymphatic system was sluggish
because I wasn't sleeping, youknow.

(10:51):
So a lot of that, you mean, youknow, friends might not be
like, oh, is that yoga?
It is, right?
So those different habits,whether it's moving lymph in the
body or scraping the skin orwhatever.
So I would make things as easyas possible for me and put them
where I was, which is thekitchen.
Yeah.
I'm in the kitchen all thetime.

(11:11):
I'm on the floor of the theliving room with all the toys.
So then I would stick whateverit was that maybe would help me
a block or whatever, it became apart of my house.
So there was as few excuses aspossible.

Yeah.
And more opportunitieseverywhere because they then
you're in the kitchen.
And I just relate to this somuch of like trying to find a
time to actually brush yourteeth before going to bed or
after waking up.
If your toothbrush is there inthe kitchen, then if you walk
into the kitchen and startfeeding everybody, you can also
brush your teeth immediately.
You don't have to wait untilhowever much longer later, where

(11:48):
you're like, wait, did Ishower?
Did I brush my teeth?
I don't have my contacts onlike the amount of times where
I'm like, especially early onwith her, I'd be like, what time
is it?
It's 11 a.m.
or it's 2 p.m.
And I still didn't put mycontacts on, like, or my glasses
for that matter.
I've just been living in ahaze.

Yes, yes, yes, yes.
And and with that, you know,this might be so obvious, but
like to put things it in visualeye line.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Hydration has always been a bigdeal for me.
So I always have my waterbottle, it's glass, I can see
how much water is in it, and Ikeep it constantly filled up
where I could see it, right?
Especially when I was nursing,how important to be hydrated,

(12:26):
right?

Speaker 02 (12:27):
Yeah.

Same with my toothbrush.
I mean, I try to put it so it'snot obnoxious or like your
toothbrush is in the kitchen.
How gross is that?
But you know, like I, you know,scrape my tongue and chew it
all there.
Um, yeah, to help because youknow, we're gonna be the last
things to go, like or or thelast being to get support from

(12:47):
ourselves.

Right, which ideally isn't the case, but is
the case a lot of the time,right?
And just being able toprioritize your to to make it
easy to take care of yourself,to make it easy to prioritize
yourself and to make it easy foryour physical body to be cared
for.
What about like little mentalmoments of space?
Um, but I know you have thislong history.

(13:09):
Talk to Sarah Ezren on thispodcast too about yoga and
parenting.
It's like you have this longhistory of like two-hour yoga
practices and weekends whereyou're just in the studio the
whole time and then you gooutside and do yoga on a
mountain at the end, like youknow, weeks at a time where
you're just breaking downtrikonasana and all this stuff.
So that's all in there, andthen you're in this space where

(13:30):
that's not what's happeningright now.
And so, how did maybe the thespiritual or mental impact of
all of that show up in those, Iwant to say in those early days,
but the in those series ofyears where you're primarily
caretaking?

Well, um, I found that I was able to
do this at night before I fellasleep more than in the morning,
because, and maybe you know,you've had this or have this,
but I had it with all of mykids, I would be woken up by
screaming on a nightly, daily,morning basis.
So my waking up uh part, whichnow I sew like I hold sacred,

(14:15):
when I open my eyes and I becomeconscious that I am alive and
awake, and here it's morning,that there was a series of kind
of meditative uh breath workthings that I do to kind of like
get my radio station attuned,you know, my brain.
But in the early years ofparenting, I I really wasn't
able to do the mornings.
So hell with the mornings, itwas the nighttime.

(14:37):
So, okay, I've just settled youin.
I would create so simplesymmetry in my body.
So I'm laying in bed and then Iwould consciously align my body
so it is as balanced as I couldmake it.

Yeah.

And then work, you know, because I
was crunching my jaw and liftingmy shoulder and to see if I
could soften it, yeah, and thenbalance my breath.
So that became my nightly, youknow, nightly practice.
Um, and then from there guidingmy mind to you know

(15:15):
appreciation, you know, justlike that that kind of prayer
form of just like thank you andand go through, you know.
Thank you, thank you, thankyou, thank you, thank you.
And then I how I mean I what itthat lasted three minutes and
then I was asleep because I wassuper exhausted.
Yeah, right.
But I still build on that now.
That's not really anydifferent, but now it's both PM

(15:37):
and AM.
Yeah, right, yeah, andanywhere, you know, we had this
Thomas a train, right?
And and and all my kids pushThomas around this little part
of the driveway.
When we were pushing Thomas, Iwas doing squats.
Yeah, I know that that's notyou know, yoga is so much more
than squats, but those squatswere really helping me, yeah,

(16:00):
right, clear my head, strengthenmy body, move move all those
things, energize me because Iwas so tired, right?
So, like Thomas, the train timeis squats and lunges, yeah.
Okay.

So you're just fitting it in in whatever
capacity, whether it's feedingyour mind or your body or your
or your energy, all of theabove.
It's like you're just takingthose hours upon hours of surya
namaskar A and Surya Namaskar Band going, okay, squats and
lunges during Thomas the Traintime, okay, uh, toothbrush, a

(16:34):
skin brush, massage in thekitchen drawer, like all these
things that we could potentiallyin a retreat setting,
especially like luxuriate on andhave all this time for.
But when it's not, everythingelse is gone and the whole focus
is you on retreat.
And when it's not even lifewhere you're the primary person
taking care of just yourself,it's like, okay, we've got to

(16:58):
make this happen somewhere,right?
To not lose touch with it.
A lot of what I hear in thattoo, that I've talked to many
yoga teachers about is like therelationship to your practice
and keeping that alive.
So rather than being so rigidabout it has to look this one
way, life is gonna change andseasons are gonna change.
So, what's your relationship toit?
How do you stay connected toit?

(17:18):
And so that's what I hear youdoing is just staying connected
to your practice, which is aform of self-care.

Yes, yes, and and utilizing whatever
um wonderful little micro momentthere may be, utilizing that
micro moment with intention.
Yes, and with positiveintention.
And we all I was just listeningto to some sort of research

(17:45):
basically on, you know, thatit's important event with your
girlfriends, that it actually,you know, that it actually is
healing.
And as all things can be takenout of alignment and too much,
right?
So to to uh acknowledge, yes,my mind is going into a negative
bent.
I feel sorry for myself andangry that this is going on, you
know, that at least for me,that's a typical loop.

(18:07):
You know, here I am again,right?
And where I can thenintentionally, whether you call
it affirmation or mantra orseeing the positive or being
grateful, to mentally redirectmy mind into uh an intentional
positive mindset um while I'mdoing the lunges, yeah, while

(18:31):
I'm scraping my tongue, when I'mdrinking my water.
That's one that I have reallyum I'm good at.
I'm good at being positive whenI drink my water.
And when I drink my water, Ibasically say thank you.

Speaker 02 (18:46):
Yeah.

And I see it move through my body.
And that then, you know, so amoment of like, okay, I'm all
right.

Refreshment.

Yes, instead of go, go, go, go, go,
where are we going next?
Right.
Which, you know, that's that'sregular life.

Yeah, and it's not just what you're doing, but
your relationship to it and howyou're doing it and the
intention that you're bringingto it.
There's so much power, you andI both know, and habits too,
right?
And so rather than setting up abig expectation, I'm gonna
spend 30 minutes gratitudejournaling every night.
It's like I'm just gonna fallasleep too.
Thank you for, thank you for,thank you for.
I'm gonna drink my water.

(19:22):
Oh, thank you for thishydration.
Which anyone with a human body,if you haven't had water for
10, 11 hours, right?
You take that drink, you'regonna feel that thank you really
strong, right?
So we can bring it intoeveryday hydration and these
everyday practices that you youshare and you write about.
You mentioned wanting to add oror thinking that you could have

(19:45):
added more to kitchen yoga.
Is there anything that comes tomind now that you're like, oh,
if I could write anotheredition, this is what I would
focus on?

I would proofread it better.

Uh-huh.

So we'll just start there and I'll
just leave that because there'slike one page where it's like
the wrong description to and Iwas like, oh.

Yeah, like, come on, friends, somebody catch
this.
Yeah.
It's amazing.
How many editors things can gothrough though, and there can
still be typos.
I remember getting like emailsof like, oh, I found this word
backwards on page 67.
And I was just like, likereleasing it to the universe
because I'm like, you know, Ireally did have like I read it
three times and had an editor,and oh well.

Yeah, oh well, editor, copy editor,
you know, there was there was alot of sweet, awesome people.

Yeah.
And we just I know, and Iremember like writing to my
editor once, how do we missthis?
She's like, We missed it.
And I'm like, Oh, well, okay.
Thanks.
That's another lesson, isn'tit?

Yeah.
So that I think that you know,that would be the main, and and
and maybe it just not being assimple.
And as I say that to you, Lisa,I think simple is potent.

It's the point, yeah, it's the whole point.

Simple is the point.
Yeah.
And uh, and I think that's andand that I think of that, and
you just said something like,you know, 30 minutes of
gratitude journaling, right?
Yeah.
So sometimes we put the bar sohigh, yeah.
And somehow we think it's onlybeneficial if it's complicated,
if it's in words that our brainslike, oh, whatever, or it has

(21:13):
so much time to it.
And I think that um, at leastfor me, I'm realizing more and
more that there is this likeprimal simple part of me, and
uh, and I don't need moresometimes than just thank you.
Yeah, I don't need to evenattach anything to that, just
thank you.
Yeah, yeah, just simple, simplemoments.

You know, and I always think about yoga like
this gentle approach that'sreally powerful.
The image that I always connectit to is water on rock and have
this memory being in Yosemite.
Some people might have beenthere.
There's Vernal Falls and thenthere's Nevada Falls.
Have you ever been to thatarea?

Have not.

So if you go to the top of Vernal Falls and then
go back, there's a bridgebefore you get to Nevada Falls.
And the water there, it's snowmelt, and it's so powerful,
especially certain times ofyears, just thundering through
there, right?
But it's water, it's malleable,it's soft, it's and then you
see this smooth rock, like likesomebody's been polishing it for

(22:14):
centuries, you know, and thatsomebody is water.
And so I think about that withmantras like thank you, when you
have that every time you drinkwater, that's a lot of
repetition over time, and likearguably more powerful than 30
minutes of writing every night.
That's just like now I'm doingmy journal because it's so
integrated into your life and sorepetitive.

(22:37):
So you could be traveling andat a restaurant or wherever and
drinking water and having thatstick with you.
So there's something reallypowerful about the smallness and
this the repetitive way thatit's integrated into you.

Yes, yeah, yeah.
I I beautifully, beautifullyput.
Um I think the theorganizational mind, the
doubting mind makes itcomplicated.
And um, and that more witnessspace, observer space, that one
that is not so gripping orworried, you know, the less

(23:15):
fearful mind, then it's likewell, this would be where I am.
It's the now, right?

Yeah.

You've been teaching yoga how long
now?
20, 20 ish, 20-ish years.
And I've been teachingteachers, which is so wonderful,
been very fulfilling for 17.

Yeah.
What's most alive in yourteaching of teachers these days?

What's most alive?
That's such a wonderfulquestion.
Um, even bad yoga is good yoga.

unknown (23:49):
Yeah.

Right?
Meaning, like, you know, startwhere you are, use what you
have.
You have the intention to helpothers, help yourself and help
others at the same time.
That's a beautiful intention.
We can all have little markers,you know, like you know, raised
with certain even in yoga,there's elitism, you know, about

(24:11):
understanding functionalanatomy and this is no all that,
right?
My lineage, right?
Wonderful, yes, yes, and getout there.

Yeah.

So, um, so I think that I've become
in some ways, I'm a little, youknow, a little more not strict,
but a little more like, hey,ahimsa, let's not hurt anybody.
And like, I'm serious.
No, stop that.
And on the other hand, I'm kindof like, you know, like as long
as you're not hurt anybody,just anything goes.

(24:47):
And yeah, spread the love.

Yeah.

People breathe.

That's such a it's such a yoga evolution, too.
I mean, I think about we'veshared you know, very similar
yoga worlds for a long period oftime.
I feel like you get reallysteeped in certain cultures,
like yoga work so powerful.
I think influence on both ofus, and both of us teaching
there and teaching teachertrainings and working together
on teacher trainings.

(25:11):
Remember, that's how we met.
I was assisting the one thatyou and Nikki taught.
So I feel like we can getreally steeped in that culture.
And there's this culture ofexcellence and dedication and
depth and science and digginginto the philosophy that I love.
Like, I drink it like a freshglass of water.
I'm like, bring it.
I remember someone telling mesomewhere in there of they went

(25:34):
to India and they went to thisyoga practice space, and it
wasn't one of the main lineagesthat we were studying.
And they were like, wow, theirform was just all over the
place, like hips out here andknees over there.
And I was just like screamingthe whole time.
She's like, but they were sokind and so happy.
And so I figured it must beworking, it must be working for

(25:57):
them.
Like they're sticking out theirhip and triangle pose and their
knees not over their ankle andwire two, but but they're
peaceful.
And so, you know, I feel likeit's such an evolution to just
come back to the basics and andwe come back to the
philosophical basics in yoga ofwhat is yoga, ahimsa.
It's practicing non-harmingtowards self and others.

(26:17):
And it's so funny, Alex and Iuse this, it's almost like
becomes a little sword.
We're like ahimsa, ahimsa toeach other whenever one person
is getting too feisty.
Hey, ahimsa.
Like, no, I want to be grumpy,right?

Speaker 02 (26:31):
Yeah.

But I think coming back to ahimsa and coming
back to like it's all good,it's all yoga.
I mean, even pain sciencesupports, like, you know, if we
get too rigid in, oh, if yourknee goes this far, it's bad for
you, then it's actually it webecome afraid, and we can even
sort of create a situation wherewe're doing something that
feels harmful, sure, that arehelpful.

(26:53):
So there's there's just thisbreathing room and what you
describe of coming back to thefoundations of yoga and coming
back to something that alsofeels really inclusive, like
just wherever you are.
Like it doesn't have to, it'snever about it looking pretty,
even though it can really seemlike it is.

For sure, for sure.
And uh this aspect of you know,what are we leaving behind?
Yeah, I I I think about that ona regular to my family's uh
frustration.
They're like, why are youalways thinking about like
going?
And it's like, well, because Ithink about leaving my body and
going every day, and that helpsme to be more present here.

Speaker 02 (27:32):
Yeah.

Um, and intentionality and that, you
know, being aligned in ourheart and soul with our body,
with our actions, with ourwords, that's really what's
gonna matter at the end of theday.
So, how are we doing that?
And whether you're doing thatwith asana and you're in it, you

(27:57):
know, it looks like yoga,whatever, however, you're doing
that, that's your yoga, youknow, like ideally it's being
done awake, right?
How much can we help ourselvesawaken?
Um, and there are thosemoments, you know, in there was
like ahimsa, or you know, um,fierce kindness.
Yeah, fierce kindness is stillpart of my world, but fierce

(28:19):
kindness is the book, the bookFierce Kindness, but this
thought of like turning fear tolove, and it's a hard thing,
it's like you redirect yourself,right?
But my family used to always belike, You're not being furious,
kindness.
And I'd be like, I am indeedbeing furious, kindness
kindness.
I love that.
Yeah, yeah, our families.
Families are wonderful, butthey remind us how human we are.

Oh, yeah, which is great.
And it's lovely to be human andlaugh and just, you know, be
imperfect while remembering thatthis is something that's
important to us, and while beingreminded in those moments where
we're, you know, maybe gettinga little out of line or in going
in the direction that mightfeel harmful to someone, like,
okay, this is actually importantto me.

(29:03):
Yeah.
I mean, it does make us laughwhen we go, ahimsa.
We're like, oh yes.

Fine, fine, ahimsa, fine.
I'm gonna take a break rightnow.
I'm gonna take a break and andcome back when I'm a little
nicer.

Yeah.
Can you talk about fiercekindness and what that means to
you now?

I always see a mama cat moving a
baby cat by the back of theneck.

By the back of the neck.
Yeah.

Stop it this way.
You know, you're you're goingthe wrong direction.

Yeah, really picking them up and moving them.
Yes.

And I feel like the hardest person for
me to redirect is myself.

Yeah.
Yeah.

unknown (29:44):
Right.

I can I can see it all for everybody
else.
Right.

unknown (29:48):
Yeah.

Very clear.
Right.
So I feel like that fiercekindness is everything that
we're talking about.
And you know, I love the ideaof the water on the rock and
that consistency.
And I also see like it's alittle more like it's gonna take
a little bit of shakti, alittle energy, a little

(30:09):
awareness.
It has some oomp to it, somefire to it.
And and so whatever directionthat you're you're stuck in, um,
in that fear channel, in thatchannel of doubt, of clinging,
of you know all the aspects ofwhat's making you suffer, right?
Can you use whatever tool,whatever works, and get yourself

(30:30):
into that channel of harmony,of appreciation, of love for
yourself.
So it has always kind of meantthat to me, and it still is and
it still continues to be mygreatest challenge.
It's redirecting myself.
And I think if it's changed, itI think it has gotten a little
gentler.

Yeah, yeah, a little more loving pickup and
drop off.

Yes, instead of just claws.
Yeah, I'm not as much as atiger mom with myself.
I'm you know, but I'm a little,yeah.
The gray hairs are coming, youknow, like it they're here in
here, and the gray hairs arecoming.
And so, like, I feel that kindof that wisdom older wisdom
woman.

The loving tiger mom.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So fierce kindness is in largepart acknowledging where we're
in fear, making an intentionalpickup and drop-down shift into
love, appreciation, gratitude,connection, those things.
Do you also think about it?
Because you started mentioningthem in English in terms of like

(31:32):
the klasias, the aversions, thethings that make us suffer.
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.
Yeah.
And identifying, you know, andagain, I think of like and
whatever works.
Yes rings to me, like andwhatever works, that aspect of
like how to re redirectyourself.
And I think of then the scienceof like how to regulate your
nervous system.
Like this is all, you know,kind of all a part of that,
which comes back to themicrohabits.

Yeah.

So if you know, you haven't brushed
your teeth, and that could beone of those moments that you
know, when you do it withintentionality and you love
yourself and you take care ofyourself, it's like you can use
it as that kind of moment toshift yourself from fear to
love, from that programhabitual.

Yeah.

But who can blame us, Lisa?
I mean, I I love we've gotbrains, we're humans.

Spiral doom is right there.

Coming at us.

There's so much coming at us.
Yeah, it's hard to filter.
Our brains are constantly doingit.
But what I love about thesepractices is that they bring us
together in a way where we go,how do we feel better?
What works?
You know, and not that we'retrying to change, you know,
we're we're also just trying tobecome aware, like how what is
actually happening?
How do I feel?

(32:43):
And I where do I have choice?
Where does that choice lead tome banging my head against a
wall?
And where does that choice leadto connection or progress or
growth?
And growth isn't always easy orpretty, but there's a sense of
maybe fulfillment orsatisfaction or expansion in
that that we can appreciate.
And so that's really what Ihear.

(33:04):
And that is, you know,supporting people through just
the realities of being human,having a nervous system that's
focused on problems that caninternalize or externalize, you
know, unkind feelings or harmfulthoughts or even behaviors, and
managing that, like findingtools to work with so that

(33:24):
ideally it's a better experiencefor us and for the people that
that we love.
For sure.
Or the people we don't love.

It's that ripple effect.
You know, how you know, we howdo we be a positive change in
the world?
How do we how do we show up inthat way that makes a
difference?
And it starts with everythingyou just said, and it starts
with our own kind of micro life.
Um what it keeps coming to metoo, Lisa, is stacking, yeah,
stacking onto whatever alreadyworks.

(33:55):
What's working for you now?
And you and sometimes we'relike, uh, very little.
Very little working for me.
We have to start withwhatever's working, whether that
is like, yeah, I I I walk intothe kitchen every day and I make
my child food.
So if that's working, thenthat's where you're gonna stack
on those self-care habitshabits, you know.

(34:15):
So yeah.

How do you feel like yoga has impacted your
relationships exponentially?

Like just you know, in in every way.
Um I won't even say this inlike I think I'm better.
I'm definitely better.
Yeah, you know, and I I Ireally try to apply compassion
to the older version of Mel, youknow, because we're on so many
0.0s at this point.

(34:45):
Yeah, right.
And I know there's gonna bemore pointos that we'll look
back to now and be like, oh ay,yeah, yay, ay, yeah, yay.
So I I believe that um I'm abetter friend.

Yeah.

I'm a better friend because I'm a
better friend to myself and I'mmore intentional and I'm more
honest within my own being onwhat I need and want.
Yes.
I feel kinder and like I'm abetter friend, whether it's a
romantic friend or a motherlyfriend, like everybody's a
friend.
I'm a better friend.

Yeah, more compassion.
Yeah.

For sure.

Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
So I'm curious if you couldmagically download a yoga skill
into every person on the earthwho wants it.
Anyone who's like, yeah, signme up.
What skill would you share?
Pausing.

Yeah.
The power of pausing, stoppingand inquiring from the the
kindest, the most expansive partof yourself beyond personality,
known as Mel.
If I can pause and stop and andand take a look and go, okay,

(35:58):
is this in the big picture oflife and evolution of life and
spirit?
Is this important?

Yeah.
Well, you've mentionedincorporating awareness of
death.
And in yoga, we practiceshivasana, which is corpse pose,
which in in ways, depending onhow teachers teach it, but in
intention, it's meant to be amicro experience of death, of
letting go, of letting all thatexperience just integrate and
not doing any more, and evenletting go of you know,

(36:28):
influencing our breath, lettinggo of our physical body.
So there's something aboutthat, just being aware that this
is impermanent and coming backto the power that you do have in
this moment to make choices,right?
Like that, there's the pausing,there's the stopping, but what

(36:49):
you're describing is more evenspiritual than that, right?
You're talking about comingfrom a deep place within
yourself.
It's not just the personalitythat the lovely personality that
is Mel, right?
The funny and charming andwonderful personality, but
something that feels like it haseven more depth.
Can you talk about how?
And this might not have words,but how Shivasana or Yoga or

(37:13):
even your relationship withdeath, like keeping it in your
awareness, does that connect youmore to a deeper part of
yourself?
Or what what does connect youto that deeper part beyond
personality?

Um, yes, that's that that's my big
resounding yes.
And uh I and again to myfamily's um not their their
frustration, I think about deathor leaving my body a lot daily,

(37:48):
and I celebrate it.
Like I really I find it afascination.
I'm very curious um about howthat will go.
Uh and in my mind and in mybody, I rehearse it.
Um, like I have desires aboutthis, Lisa.
I want to, I want to, I want toleave peacefully and with

(38:08):
awareness, and I want toremember it all.
And I ask all my people aroundme, you know, hey, if you leave
your body first, you know, whatsigns you're gonna give me
because I really want you tocommunicate, let me know.
So there's that little kid partof me too that's like really
interested.
And I I would say that for me,that is the greatest thing that
keeps me like, okay, I'm notpromised dinner tonight.

(38:29):
Yeah, time is limited, not in apanic way, but like, okay, so
are you gonna put your attentionon that one email that
irritated you that really doesnot matter?
Yeah, scheme of things, or areyou gonna redirect your
attention to what is your youbelieve in this imperfect moment
is your soul's purpose?
And and that may be reallyenjoying the memory game.

(38:53):
My my 11-year-old, we playmemory, you know, they're a
little, you know, it's aSpider-Man game, and it'd like
to give that a hundred percent,be completely present, smell
him, squeeze him, right?
That's my purpose in thismoment because I may not get it
again.

Yeah.
And I mean, he's never he's notgonna be 11 forever, it's not
gonna be today forever.
So even if it's it's bringingin the awareness of death to
appreciate the transitorymoment, to appreciate the
impermanence of it all and bewith it while it is for that
fraction of a second, you know,not permanent, but happening,

(39:30):
yes, alive, it's real, andappreciate and it comes back to
that.

Like, thank you for this moment.

Yes, I so relate to this sparkle.

Yeah, thank you for as I look at you,
just see the glow in you and andright, like whichever moment is
just like um, so it it uh it ismy regular daily practice.

I so relate to this, especially in parenting,
especially when you're tired,especially when you go to your
phone to look up the dosage ofTylenol and get distracted by
something else, right?
Like coming back to like mychild is never gonna be this
this day, this age, ever again.
And there is some element forme I think I I don't want to

(40:15):
look back and have missed it,right?
Like I don't want to be sopulled out, of course.
Self-compassion, I'm gonna getpulled out.
Like I'm gonna, I'm gonna go tolook something up on my phone
or respond to a call or a textmessage and get and wonder how
did I end up on Instagram?
Like it's gonna happen.
And there are things I can doto put into place to prioritize

(40:36):
my time and energy and thecompassion and the return, like
that pause and that choice areso powerful.
And I know it's so much easiersaid than done.
And it almost becomes like, ohyeah, duh, pause, take a breath,
come back, be present, like allthese things.
But there's something reallyreal and powerful about

(40:57):
experiencing that.
Like when it happens, we knowand and we can be with the
people we love.
We can be with ourselves, wecan connect with life.
And I think when we do that, alot of other stuff naturally
falls away.
Like when we really likesometimes like the cat picking
up the kitten with their teeth,like we kind of yank ourselves

(41:18):
up and over and go, no, I don'twant my attention to go there.
Like this is my energy andattention and life force.
And and I really want to placeit on my one-year-old stacking
blocks right now.
Like I really want to savorthis.
And maybe I can't even likefeel like I'm savoring it
enough, but I'm at least tryingand I'm here and I'm looking at
her and I'm breathing with herand I'm responding to her.

(41:40):
And and you know, not from aplace of perfection, but from a
place of connection andenjoyment and intention.
I just hear so much of that inwhat you're describing.

I I love that.
Yeah, I love the way you'resharing it.
It makes me think ofcelebration, makes me think of
BJ Fogg and his habit work.
If you haven't read TinyHabits, I'm sure.
Oh, yes, like amazing, right?
Any of our friends highlyrecommend it.
But this aspect of when wecelebrate, right?
So when you do direct yourattention on the light coming

(42:14):
through the window, my goodness,right?
When you do and you celebrate,whether you call it celebrate or
appreciation, it does affirmthe habit and make it easier to
do.
That was part of the science uhhabit.
So that celebration, um, Ithink it's I just want to pause.
Yes, right.
So keep celebrating.

(42:34):
Yes, you know, not beatingyourself up, but celebrate when
you're like, oh yeah, all theair today.
Oh, it's wonderful.
Like, so simple, right?
So you're alive and you'represent.
And I would also say giveyourself little reminders, like
you know, like you know, the thelittle bands, you know.
When I look at my bands thatcut ties my hair on my wrist, it

(42:56):
it to me, it's it's I'veinfused it with it's it reminds
me to like pause.
Maybe maybe you put a post-itmaybe you're a post-it note
friend, and you you put likepause or appreciate or whatever,
but like it's okay.
And and try to make it easy foryourself to come back and
remember.

Yeah.
One of my favorite mal isms isoh well.

Oh my gosh, I live by it.

Oh well, and whatever works.
So it's like you live in myhead in that way.
So know that anytime if we areno longer connected in body on
this planet, anytime I hearsomeone say, Oh well, I will
think of you.
And anytime I hear someone saywhatever works, those are two
things I've heard you say somany times, and I love it.
But there's also that moment oftransition where rather than

(43:43):
getting caught up in any kind ofdrama around what I should be
doing or what I wanted to bedoing, or this isn't, it's like
you can come into thatcelebration and we can also
bring a sense of like, even ifwe were, you know, scrolling on
our phone for 45 minutes.
Well, that's over.
I've tried to do that with mydaughter too, because there's
moments where she's upset aboutsomething, and I'm never someone

(44:05):
to like sweep things under therug.
I want her to feel herfeelings, but I let her know
it's done.
That thing is over now, youknow?
Yeah, it's not happeninganymore.
Oh well, yeah, moving on.

Speaker 02 (44:16):

Yeah, we can have our feelings about it
after, but just so you know,it's that's not gonna happen
anymore.
Like, I'm not gonna wipe yourface again.
It's done.

Yeah, oh, and I love that.
And I just want to say, like uhancestral healing, yes,
evolution of humanconsciousness, yes, coming back
to like I'm celebrating you, I'mcelebrating that beautiful
moment of parenting, right?
We all like my parents did theydid a lovely job, they did the
best they could, and and we keeplearning.
Ideally, we're we are on theshoulders of what came before in

(44:50):
whatever way we can be.
And that's to be celebrated,you know, and and and she will
go on, and our kids will go onto uh ideally be more aware and
yeah, they're picking up onstuff that that I'm not I wasn't
aware of, I'm still not awareof.

She's gonna pick up on things and you know, live
her life.
And I mean, when you knowbetter, do better type of thing,
right?
Again, without expectation orpressure, but I feel like that's
kind of the natural order ofwhat you're describing, right?
As we go, oh, I didn't likethat, so I'm not gonna do that.

Yeah, yeah, that's no longer helpful.

Yeah, yeah, it's no longer helpful.

Yeah, it served its purpose, but but
but not here and now in this newtime.
Um yeah, yeah.

Speaking of evolution, the yoga world has
changed so much in the manyyears that you and I have both
been in it, and especially Ithink since 2020, the impact of
the pandemic.
And I love that you're in yourstudio as we're recording.
You have a physical space.
I have been there.
It is close enough for me todrive there.
I love it.
Physical yoga spaces, I feellike are so powerful.

(45:58):
And also, you know, even likethe structure of yoga schools
and training and practice, it'sreally changed.
So I'm wondering what yourhope, your vision for the future
of yoga is in the next 20years.
What would you like to see?

What a what a wonderful question.

Um, I really want to know, right?
Because we're in this kind ofweird space, I feel like.

I personally, in a way, I go
blank.
Yeah, like what yeah, and Ithink I think in the most
simplest form, more of the same.
And and what I mean by that iswhen we are online with each
other, we realize how connectedwe are, right?

(46:43):
And so there is something sovery precious and and beautiful,
right?
The class, I just got to teach,I feel it's honored to teach, I
just got to teach it.
I'm so lucky.
And and there were um multiplestudents who were on like
complete, it's it's 11 a.m.
here, it was 8 p.m.
at you know, across the pond,right?

Yeah, so much for a different kind of AMP
yoga.

Yeah, yeah.
And and just but what an honorbecause I know we I would not be
connecting with those sweetsouls.
So I I said more the same, moreof that us making the world
smaller and continue to alsogrow our communities because it
is super important to feel thatyou have a community and not
feel isolated, and that happensin person, yeah, as well, not

(47:30):
only, yeah, but as well.
And I think maybe a little hopethat we continue to evolve from
the physical practice.
If we are physically in painand sick, right, we don't have
enough muscle on the body, allthese things our brain
deteriorates, if our braindeteriorates, like our our
quality of life here is comes tozero, right?

(47:52):
So it's very important, all thephysical stuff, super
important.
And yes, and so to continue togrow the the aspect of the daily
intentional living and uh andcreating that uh peace that the
world really needs.

Yeah, uh him so were you in improv?
Because you were in theater,you did a lot of improv, huh?
I'd love to do improv with you.
That would be so fun.

A lot of yes and and a lot of yes and
um did you know that I used toperform weekly at the comedy
store?

No, stop it.
Can I go back in time andwatch?
Can I buy a ticket?
Oh my gosh, is it recordedanywhere?

Uh yeah, there are I have like the
you know comedy reels.

Uh, but I have coming over, I'll bring popcorn.

Yeah, I'm gonna find them.
Rafael has them somewhere, butyeah, yeah, yeah.
And that's where I learned.
I was like, this world, I knowI'm trying to like put some, I'm
trying to plant seeds.

Yeah.

But I was like, this world's too harsh
for my very tender heart.
But I did learn to plant seedsand to like enjoy the process.
You know, people throw thingsat me, I'm on stage or yell at
me.
Yeah, just fine.
You know, you're gonna cry andyoga class fine.
Come on, let me hug you.
It's fine, yeah, it neverworks.
Let's keep going.

So serious about we're having popcorn, it can be
expeller press, coconut oil,Himalayan, salt, popcorn, but
like in this studio, projectingon the wall, those comedy days.
I mean, it could be afundraiser, I just have all
kinds of ideas for you.
All your students will sign up.

Yeah, that's why I stopped.
I was like, I really do want tohave kids, like that.
That was the realization.
Yeah, and I was like, and Ireally don't want them to
identify that with me.
And that's why I stopped.

Wow.

Yeah, they might want them to see
this.
And I was like, Oh, and I don'tI don't want that to be who
they know.
Yeah, but they do know her.
I mean, let's get let's getclear.
My my kids know exactly what'sgoing on here.

Yeah, of course they do.
Yeah, yeah.
So somebody might be listeningwho's not a yoga practitioner.
I was just talking to a clientthe other day who loves yoga and
is like, why is it so hard forme to start?
Like, why is it so hard for meto just I know getting on the
mat when I'm anxious helps?
And why is it so hard to makethat transition?
So, what might you say tosomeone who's in that struggle,

(50:23):
whether it's to to do to tryyoga or to start something that
feels helpful or to justtransition from an
anxiety-ridden moment to plankpose?
What would you say to someonewho's in that in-between?

Well, and it's gonna feel totally full
circle.
But wherever you are all thetime, whether it's office yoga
or you know, but like nix themat.
Yeah, nix the mat, nix theoutfit, nix, you don't need any
of that.
Literally, it's time to getinto your body, just push
against your desk, bend yourknees and stretch your spine.
Yeah, and yawn.

(51:01):
And and and then reach yourarms up.
So if it's that simple, youjust need to shift the mindset
by shifting your body.

Yeah, right.

Uh, something as as very simple as
that.

Yeah.

Put your arms up in the sky and
breathe and look up.
That's all that's all you need.
So good.
Doing it right now.
So good.
And doing it right now.
And then that then that mightbe like, oh, well, that felt
kind of good.
I'm gonna do it again.

Yeah.
Or I automatically startedstretching my hands behind my
back next.

Oh, yeah.
You know, like it does not haveto be like official.

Yeah.

And then suddenly one minute turns
into three minutes, and then youfeel totally better, and then
go from there, then be like,okay, maybe now I'll roll out my
mat.
Fine.
Also, ask for help.
There is a wheel that isturning.
Whatever wheel that is turning,you get on it too, and you'll

(51:56):
turn around, right?
I love that kind of image.
Yeah.
So it's like whether they'retalking to you and they then
they they go, Oh, what are youdoing, Lisa?
Okay, I'm gonna come to yourclass or whatever, the lowest
lying hanging fruit.
That's already they're alreadydoing it.
It's easy to get to.

Yeah, get on the wheel.
Yeah, yes.
It takes the burden of momentumoff of the individual more.
It's just like tune into agroup and lean into the
structure and just you can, youknow, assess the place, oh, this
looks good, and then followalong, right?
And just yeah, it's easy.

Yeah, like for me, it's like it's down
the street, it's it's on mycomputer, it's you know, I I
talk to my whoever all the time.
Easy.
Doesn't have to be perfect,doesn't mean just the right
style, or like doesn't none ofthat matter, just start
something.

I also feel like there's something about meeting
yourself where you are thatalso sometimes we feel like the
goal is to change versus thegoal is to connect.
Like, if the goal is to connectin the moment, like, oh, I'm
feeling really anxious, okay.
Well, maybe like your hands aremoving fast.
Well, what if you move themfaster?
And what if you shake them overyour head?

(53:08):
What if you shake them to theside?
And what if you shake them tothe back?
And then what if you stretch orwhatever?
Like, but rather than like thegoal being to change, the goal
being to feel and to connect andto, yeah, probably move some
energy, but let that happen inan organic way.
I think a lot of questions Iget about yoga and trauma feel
like they come from that placeof like, how do I change my

(53:29):
nervous system?
I'm like, well, you you dochange it, but you change it by
tapping into it and listening toit and honoring it and having
this relationship with it oflike, it's heavy for a reason.
Do you need sleep?
Are you sad?
Does it take a lot of energy toprocess something that's
traumatic?
Yes, like honoring that andknowing that, and then just

(53:50):
working with it, right?
Rather than against it.
So that's what I hear youdescribing too.
It's like working withyourself.
You're at your desk.
And if you think, well, Ishould be getting on my yoga mat
and it's over there, it's likethat can that can really be a
big ask, right?
Even though it seems simple andour minds go, yeah, yeah, I can
do that.
There's moments that all of uscan agree, well, we didn't do
it.
So, what can you do right now?

(54:12):
Can you press your hands intoyour desk?
Can you stretch out?
Can you shake a little?
Can you work with what'shappening in a gentle way and
then see where it goes?
Because, like you said, itstarts to carry this new
momentum, right?
And so we're on a journey andwe're connected rather than
disconnected and in a tug ofwar.

Ah, yeah.

I love you.

You're Marty alerted, too.
Marty.

What's next for you?
Are you teaching teachertrainings?
I know you're ongoing teachertraining, teaching teacher
trainings.
So what's coming up?

Uh, I am teaching teacher trainings.
In fact, I am I have the honor.
I I kind of like pinch me,Lisa.
This is my life, right?
I have our the studio here.
I'm so I'm just feel veryblessed.
I'm very lucky.
So I'm teaching a 300-hourprogram for like the advanced
training.
I I get to teach for the thewonderful Chopra people, Deepak

(55:05):
Chopra.
I'm his lead trainer.
How how lucky am I?
It's such a joy.
That's an online training at200 hour.
I hang out with them.
I have my own, right?
Which has, you know, they'reall similar quality.
They'll they allcross-pollinate, right?
You can't say, like, oh, thisis so different, and that's so
different.
But it's all like, okay, andthat's hybrid.
So I teach people here.
Um, and then online.

(55:28):
Uh, so I'm deeply I have thoseall layered, and that's my main
part of my life.
And I'm doing spirit theater.
Oh, tell me about spirittheater.
I feel like it's, you know,anyone who has been in class are
like, yeah, you've always beenkind of like chanting and doing
things to move energy and youknow, all the different things.

(55:49):
So the two most healingmodalities that have affected me
so deeply is one is yoga, theenergetics, the movement, the
pranayama, the mantra, all ofit, right?
And the other is the theater ofusing mask, specifically
neutral mask, which is that youhave nothing the the mask is

(56:10):
just like almost like a facelessperson.
Wow.
Um, and uh and and learning toneutralize uh and become aware
of like programmed choices,behaviors, right?
Um, in the theater, thatneutral mask was really healing
for me where I started to belike, well, I could let go.

(56:31):
I didn't have to try so hard.
I can allow myself to be whereI am, right?
So I'm bringing thosemodalities together, call it
yoga mask, spirit theater, andin fact, just you know, uh
coming up.
I've sp I have time to do it.
So I'm bringing that where wemove, we clear, and then we set
mantra and we we add the maskand uh and then connect to each

(56:56):
other and ourselves in in kindof like a ritualized way, and to
see where it's like, okay, I uhthis is who I'm becoming, and
what do I need to let go?
Yeah, right, extra effort,thoughts, doubts, all these
things to step in.
And it's like to me, it'squantum entanglement because if
you can experience the feelingwith the mask right there, the

(57:19):
freedom in the body, the joy,whatever it is, as we explore
and play in this theatrical way,in a way, then when you take
the mask off, it's still thereand you're still entangled with
who you want to become and thefeeling of who you want to
become.

Speaker 02 (57:35):
Yeah.

So that's you know, the the crazy
professor, you know, I love it.
That's where I am right now,and so that's where my energy is
going.
Yeah.
Doing it in New York at IshtaYoga in October, doing it in
Italy, in Naples, at a couple uhuh studios there.

So that's my main focus right now.
What brings you hope thesedays?
You know, stop it, keep going.

Melanie Salvatore Aug (58:04):
Sunshine.

What brings you joy?

Well, you right now.
Same, same.
Um you know, sunshine, nature,yeah, a moment where I see the
the people that I love and allthe different people that I
love.
My family, my students,friends, see their eyes sparkle
when I can see the consciousnessbehind their eyes.
I just like I it affirms to melike humans are good.

Yeah, and even just somebody passed by on the
street.
I met someone in the coffeeshop the other day, and I was
like, You got it right there.
We're friends.

Yeah, we're we're safe, we'refriends.
Humans humans uh inherently arebeautiful and kind beings.
So no matter what theadvertisement says, humans are
good.

How can good humans connect with you?

Melanie Salvatore Augus (58:59):
Easiest way is my name.com, Melanie
SalvatoreAugust.com.
There's a way to email me rightthere.
There's a way to see classesand come on.
I teach many times a week livestreams.
You can just pop on, get on azoom, yeah, say hi to each
other.
So there's many ways, andthat's the easiest way.

Is it really not Salvatore?

Well, you know what?
Read your name in Italianbefore I put the August on.
Well, no, no, honestly, myparents said Salvatore.
My parents were really tryingto you know stop to be Italian,
they stopped speaking Italian inthe house.
Um, you know, bless them, I getit.
Um, and then after I addedSalvatore.
Salvatore.

(59:42):
I mean, that's how I see it.
And then then I added on theAugust, you know, the
evolutions, and then I leftSalvatore, because it was it was
becoming too much.

A lot of syllables.
Salvatore August, I see.
Yeah, I'm I'm gonna stick withSalvatore if you're okay with
it.

Yeah, absolutely.
Love it.

Lisa Danylchuk (01:00:03):
I love just having the opportunity to have a
conversation with you andconnect with you and to share
this with folks.
So thank you for coming on theshow and for being your
wonderful, bright, beautifulself in the world.

Melanie Salvatore August (01:00:14):
Thank you so much for having me.
Thank you for doing all thatyou do in the world.
You are such a bright light.
May you have all the blessingsaround you.

Lisa Danylchuk (01:00:23):
Thank you.
Thank you so much forlistening.
Now I'd really love to hearfrom you.
What resonated with you in thisepisode and what's on your mind
and in your heart as we bringthis conversation to a close?
Email me at info at how we canheal.com or share your answers

(01:00:45):
and what's been healing for youin the comments on Instagram, or
you'll find me at How We CanHeal.
Don't forget to go tohowwecanheal.com to sign up for
email updates as well.
You'll also find additionaltrainings, tons of free
resources, and the fulltranscript of each and every
show.
If you love the show, pleaseleave us a review on Apple,

(01:01:07):
Spotify, Audible, or whereveryou're listening to this podcast
right now.
If you're watching on YouTube,be sure to like and subscribe
and keep sharing the shows youlove the most with all your
friends.
Visit how we can heal.comforward slash podcast to share
your thoughts and ideas for theshow.
I always, always love hearingfrom you.

(01:01:28):
Before we wrap up for today, Iwant to be super clear that this
podcast isn't offeringprescriptions.
It's not advice, nor is it anykind of mental health treatment
or diagnosis.
Your decisions are in yourhands, and I encourage you to
consult with any healthcareprofessionals you may need to
support you through your uniquepath of healing.

(01:01:50):
In addition, everyone's opinionhere is their own, and opinions
can change.
Guests share their thoughts,not that of the host or
sponsors.
I'd like to thank our gueststoday and everyone who helped
support this podcast directlyand indirectly.
Alex, thanks for taking care ofthe babe and taking the fur
babies out while I record.

(01:02:11):
Last and never least, I'd liketo give a special shout out to
my big brother Matt, who passedaway in 2002.
He wrote this music and itmakes my heart so very happy to
share it with you here.

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